EP0450827A1 - Silizium-Photodiode für monolithisch integrierte Schaltungen und Herstellungsverfahren - Google Patents

Silizium-Photodiode für monolithisch integrierte Schaltungen und Herstellungsverfahren Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0450827A1
EP0450827A1 EP91302594A EP91302594A EP0450827A1 EP 0450827 A1 EP0450827 A1 EP 0450827A1 EP 91302594 A EP91302594 A EP 91302594A EP 91302594 A EP91302594 A EP 91302594A EP 0450827 A1 EP0450827 A1 EP 0450827A1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
silicon
tub
substrate
photodiode
intrinsic
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Granted
Application number
EP91302594A
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English (en)
French (fr)
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EP0450827B1 (de
Inventor
Janet Lee Benton
Renuka Prasad Jindal
Ya-Hong Xie
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AT&T Corp
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American Telephone and Telegraph Co Inc
AT&T Corp
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/0248—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof characterised by their semiconductor bodies
    • H01L31/0352—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof characterised by their semiconductor bodies characterised by their shape or by the shapes, relative sizes or disposition of the semiconductor regions
    • H01L31/035272—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof characterised by their semiconductor bodies characterised by their shape or by the shapes, relative sizes or disposition of the semiconductor regions characterised by at least one potential jump barrier or surface barrier
    • H01L31/035281—Shape of the body
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L27/00—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate
    • H01L27/14—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation
    • H01L27/144—Devices controlled by radiation
    • H01L27/1443—Devices controlled by radiation with at least one potential jump or surface barrier
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/50—Photovoltaic [PV] energy

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to photodiodes and, more particularly, to an integrated photodiode for silicon monolithic integrated circuits.
  • photodiodes With the rapid proliferation of fiber optic communications systems and associated opto-electronic devices, photodiodes have become increasingly important. Information in the form of optical signals is difficult to process. However photodiodes can convert optical signals to electrical signals, and the resulting electrical signals can be efficiently and reliably processed by one of the very large number of compact, complex and inexpensive processing circuits now available in monolithic integrated circuits through silicon VLSI technology.
  • a silicon photodiode is provided as set out in the claims.
  • FIG. 1 is a flow diagram showing the process steps used to make a monolithic integrated circuit containing an integrated photodiode in accordance with the invention.
  • FIG. 2 shows schematic cross sections of a silicon wafer at various steps in the process of FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic cross section of a typical monolithic integrated circuit containing an integrated photodiode in accordance with the invention.
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view in elevation of the integrated photodiode of FIG. 3. It is to be understood that these drawings are for purposes of illustrating the concepts of the invention and are not to scale.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates the steps in making a monolithically integrated photodiode in accordance with one embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the structures produced by the successive steps.
  • FIG. 1A shows the first step which involves forming a recessed tub in a silicon substrate.
  • the upper surface of substrate is provided with etched registration marks and then a masking layer of silicon oxide.
  • a deep tub in excess of about 20 microns in depth, is formed in the region of the substrate where the integrated photodiode is to be formed.
  • the tub is formed by etching an opening in the oxide mask to define the periphery of the tub (which is typically rectangular) and then etching the tub in the silicon.
  • the substrate is (100) oriented silicon with a p-type epitaxial layer on a p+ substrate.
  • a preferred etchant is ethylene-diamine-procatechol (EDP). The EDP etch has been found to produce smooth tub surfaces with sidewalls in the (111) planes of the silicon substrate.
  • FIG. 2A shows in schematic cross section, the substrate 10, an epitaxial layer 11, the oxide outer layer 12 and tub 13 with smooth side walls 14A and 14B and bottom wall 14C.
  • the substrate 10 has p+ resistivity in the range from 0.01 to 0.05 ohm-cm.
  • the epitaxial layer 11 has a thickness on the order of 4 microns and p-type conductivity, and the oxide layer 12 conveniently has a thickness of about 3500 angstroms.
  • Typical dimensions for the tub are 100x200 microns (at the substrate surface) with a depth of about 30 microns.
  • the second step shown in FIG. 1B involves forming a p-n junction around the peripheral surfaces of the tub (side and bottom walls).
  • the p-n junction is formed by epitaxially growing thin, doped layers of silicon on the peripheral surfaces.
  • the entrenched wafers can be subjected to a combined high temperature pre-bake and HCl - H2 gas etch to reduce native oxide films and to further smooth the bottom and side walls of the tub.
  • a five minute prebake and etch at 1025°C using 0.9 l/m of HCl and 40 l/m of H2 is exemplary.
  • the p-n junction is then formed as by epitaxially growing doped layers of opposite conductivity type. This growth is preferably effected by lowering the temperature to about 950°C and exposing the substrate to a SiH2Cl2 - HCl - H2 mixture with a 1:1 ratio of HCl to SiH2Cl2 at a pressure of about 40 torr. The deposition rate is approximately 0.10 microns per minute.
  • a p-type layer is grown by introducing a gaseous source of p-type impurity into the mixture, and an n-type layer is grown by introducing a gaseous source of n-type impurity.
  • the result of the junction-forming step is shown in FIG. 2B.
  • the p-type layer 15 and the adjoining n-type layer 16 are disposed on the outer surfaces and on the bottom of tub 13.
  • layer 15 is three microns thick and has a concentration of about 3x1015cm ⁇ 3 of p-type impurities.
  • Layer 16 is preferably about 1 micron thick and has a concentration of about 7.5x1018cm ⁇ 3 of n-type impurity.
  • the next step involves filling the tub with intrinsic silicon by selective epitaxial growth.
  • This step is preferably effected by continued exposure of substrate to the SiH2Cl2 - HCl - H2 system without dopants under the conditions described above.
  • a deposition temperature of 950°C represents a good compromise between selective growth and a reasonably high growth rate in order to minimize total deposition time.
  • the high 1:1 ratio of HCl to SiH2Cl2 reduces growth rates in larger features but also reduces the density of defects.
  • the intrinsic semiconductor preferably has an dopant concentration of about 1x1013cm ⁇ 3.
  • the resulting structure shown in FIG. 2C has the tub filled with a region of intrinsic silicon 17.
  • an observed feature of this structure for deep tubs is a ridge 18 extending around the tub periphery.
  • the ridge -- which is not a desired feature -- is believed due to nucleation from the silicon lattice at the edge of the silicon oxide mask.
  • the ridge is typically on the order of 20 microns in height.
  • the next step shown in FIG. 1D is to planarize the resulting substrate.
  • This step involves removing surface irregularities -- including at least portions of ridge 18 -- from the substrate.
  • the preferred planarization process is accomplished in two steps.
  • the first step is mechanical abrasion by lapping the substrate. Lapping may be done with 1 micron aluminum oxide particles at 60 rpm for 2-4 minutes on a nonmetallic, fused quartz lap.
  • the second step is to polish the lapped substrate. Polishing may be effected with a polyurethane polymer pad saturated with colloidal silica slurry.
  • the preferred pad is a Suba IV pad marketed by Nalco Chemical Co., Chicago, Illinois, and the preferred silica slurry is Nalco 2350 marketed by the same company. Adequate polishing is effected in 1-2 minutes on a conventional polishing machine.
  • the resulting structure shown in schematic cross section is in FIG. 2D.
  • the structure comprises substrate 10, a deeply buried p-n junction comprised of layers 15 and 16 of opposite conductivity type, region 17 of intrinsic silicon filling the tub and an outer layer of oxide 19 on a planar surface.
  • FIGS. 1E and 1F involve forming a monolithic integrated circuit by conventional means in the region outside the tub region of intrinsic silicon and, preferably at the same time, forming a photodiode within the tub region. Registration with respect to the tub region is provided by the alignment marks etched into the substrate at the beginning of the process.
  • FIG. 2E shows only two such components, a pair of CMOS insulated gate field effect transistors 20 and 21 formed outside the tub periphery and connected to a photodiode 22 formed within the tub periphery.
  • one of the transistors has its control element (i.e. gate 20G) connected via metal connector 24 to the collecting electrode 25 of photodiode 22 for providing an integrated combination of photodiode and amplifier.
  • the photodiode 22, better shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 can be fabricated within the tub periphery separately or at the same time the monolithic integrated circuit is fabricated. The latter approach is preferable.
  • contact regions 23, here n+ regions are formed for permitting ohmic contact between electrode 26 and junction layer 16 at the periphery of the tub region.
  • a second contact region 29, here p+ is formed in the interior of the tub region, as by ion implantation, for permitting ohmic contact with a collector electrode 25.
  • the resulting structure acts as a p-i-n photodiode.
  • the photodiode of the invention is monolithically integrated into a substrate of monocrystalline silicon.
  • the photodiode comprises a body of epitaxially grown intrinsic silicon disposed within a tub in the substrate.
  • the body has the shape of an inverted, truncated pyramid with an upper surface coplanar with the upper surface of the substrate and a thickness (altitude) in excess of about 20 microns.
  • An isolation layer in the form of a p-n junction is disposed between the body and the substrate.
  • a peripheral electrode 26 extends around the periphery of the body on the upper surface, and a collecting electrode 25 is disposed within the periphery of the body on the upper surface and spaced from the first electrode.
  • the substrate is (100) oriented silicon and the side walls of the body are substantially parallel to the (111) planes of the substrate.
  • the collecting electrode 25 is spaced from the peripheral electrode 26 by a distance preferably in excess of about 20 microns.
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic top plan view of the photodiode in the tub region.
  • electrode 26 extends around the periphery of the tub region.
  • Collector electrode 25 is in the form of a grid 25 of radial fingers 25A and concentric circles 25B with open areas between to increase the effective area of charge collection while reducing interference with incident radiation.
  • the collection electrode grid is spaced away from the periphery of the tub region (and the peripheral electrode 26) with minimum spacing on the order of 20 microns. This minimum spacing is desirable because it has been found by the inventors that most defects in the structure occur near the periphery.
  • Conductive connectors 24 and 27 extend from electrodes 25 and 26 to the integrated circuit.
  • the peripheral electrode 26 is a composite layer of conductively doped polysilicon (1000 Angstroms) and aluminum (1 micron). It can have a width of about 5 microns.
  • the collection electrode 25 is composed of similar elements 25A and 25B having widths of about 5 microns. It is to be understood that the details of the photodiode structure are chosen to be compatible with processing and structure of the adjacent monolithic integrated circuit.
  • a voltage of approximately 5-10 volts is applied between electrodes 25 and 26 and the photodiode 22 is exposed to short wave radiation of wavelength between 8000 and 9000 angstroms, as from a gallium arsenide laser or LED (not shown).
  • short wave radiation of wavelength between 8000 and 9000 angstroms, as from a gallium arsenide laser or LED (not shown).
  • Such radiation when absorbed in the intrinsic layer 17, creates hole-electron pairs which are separated by the field between electrodes 25 and 26.
  • One component of the generated pairs is collected by electrode 25.
  • the result is that current proportional to the intensity of incident radiation passes through connector 24 to the integrated circuit where it can be amplified by transistor 20 and processed as desired.
  • the junction between layers 15 and 16 isolates photodiode 22 in depth so that the operation of the photodiode does not spuriously affect other delicate components in the integrated circuit.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
  • Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
  • Light Receiving Elements (AREA)
EP91302594A 1990-04-02 1991-03-26 Silizium-Photodiode für monolithisch integrierte Schaltungen und Herstellungsverfahren Expired - Lifetime EP0450827B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US07/503,193 US5141878A (en) 1990-04-02 1990-04-02 Silicon photodiode for monolithic integrated circuits and method for making same
US503193 1990-04-02

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EP0450827A1 true EP0450827A1 (de) 1991-10-09
EP0450827B1 EP0450827B1 (de) 1997-05-28

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US (1) US5141878A (de)
EP (1) EP0450827B1 (de)
JP (1) JPH04225285A (de)
DE (1) DE69126230T2 (de)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0917206A1 (de) * 1997-11-14 1999-05-19 Eastman Kodak Company CMOS Bildaufnahmevorrichtung
GB2386250A (en) * 2002-03-08 2003-09-10 Denselight Semiconductors Pte Passive photodetector
EP3619555A4 (de) * 2017-05-03 2020-12-16 Shenzhen Xpectvision Technology Co., Ltd. Verfahren zur herstellung eines strahlungsdetektors

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US5494833A (en) * 1994-07-14 1996-02-27 The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air Force Backside illuminated MSM device method
US5532173A (en) * 1994-07-14 1996-07-02 The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air Force FET optical receiver using backside illumination, indium materials species
US20070122997A1 (en) 1998-02-19 2007-05-31 Silicon Genesis Corporation Controlled process and resulting device
US6013563A (en) 1997-05-12 2000-01-11 Silicon Genesis Corporation Controlled cleaning process
US6287941B1 (en) * 1999-04-21 2001-09-11 Silicon Genesis Corporation Surface finishing of SOI substrates using an EPI process
US6881644B2 (en) * 1999-04-21 2005-04-19 Silicon Genesis Corporation Smoothing method for cleaved films made using a release layer
US6171965B1 (en) 1999-04-21 2001-01-09 Silicon Genesis Corporation Treatment method of cleaved film for the manufacture of substrates
JP4120184B2 (ja) * 2000-06-30 2008-07-16 セイコーエプソン株式会社 実装用微小構造体および光伝送装置
US7542197B2 (en) * 2003-11-01 2009-06-02 Silicon Quest Kabushiki-Kaisha Spatial light modulator featured with an anti-reflective structure
US8293619B2 (en) 2008-08-28 2012-10-23 Silicon Genesis Corporation Layer transfer of films utilizing controlled propagation
US8993410B2 (en) 2006-09-08 2015-03-31 Silicon Genesis Corporation Substrate cleaving under controlled stress conditions
US9362439B2 (en) 2008-05-07 2016-06-07 Silicon Genesis Corporation Layer transfer of films utilizing controlled shear region
US7811900B2 (en) 2006-09-08 2010-10-12 Silicon Genesis Corporation Method and structure for fabricating solar cells using a thick layer transfer process
US8330126B2 (en) 2008-08-25 2012-12-11 Silicon Genesis Corporation Race track configuration and method for wafering silicon solar substrates
US8329557B2 (en) 2009-05-13 2012-12-11 Silicon Genesis Corporation Techniques for forming thin films by implantation with reduced channeling

Citations (3)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2481519A1 (fr) * 1979-04-23 1981-10-30 Gen Electric Dispositif photovoltaique et procede de fabrication
EP0067566A2 (de) * 1981-06-13 1982-12-22 Plessey Overseas Limited Integrierter Lichtdetektor oder -generator mit Verstärker
US4782028A (en) * 1987-08-27 1988-11-01 Santa Barbara Research Center Process methodology for two-sided fabrication of devices on thinned silicon

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JPS61241275A (ja) * 1985-04-19 1986-10-27 Kayaba Ind Co Ltd 後輪操舵装置
FR2623664B1 (fr) * 1987-11-20 1990-03-09 Labo Electronique Physique Procede de realisation d'un photodetecteur infrarouge integre
US4956304A (en) * 1988-04-07 1990-09-11 Santa Barbara Research Center Buried junction infrared photodetector process
FR2633101B1 (fr) * 1988-06-16 1992-02-07 Commissariat Energie Atomique Photodiode et matrice de photodiodes sur hgcdte et leurs procedes de fabrication
US5010018A (en) * 1989-06-21 1991-04-23 General Electric Company Method for forming Schottky photodiodes

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2481519A1 (fr) * 1979-04-23 1981-10-30 Gen Electric Dispositif photovoltaique et procede de fabrication
EP0067566A2 (de) * 1981-06-13 1982-12-22 Plessey Overseas Limited Integrierter Lichtdetektor oder -generator mit Verstärker
US4782028A (en) * 1987-08-27 1988-11-01 Santa Barbara Research Center Process methodology for two-sided fabrication of devices on thinned silicon

Non-Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRON DEVICES, vol. ED-34, no. 2, February 1987, NEW YORK, US; pages 241 - 246; S. MIURA ET AL.: "A NOVEL PLANARIZATION TECHNIQUE FOR OPTOELECTRONIC INTEGRATED CIRCUITS AND ITS APPLICATION TO A MONOLITHIC AlGaAs/GaAs PIN FET" *
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN, vol. 10, no. 99 (E-396)[2156] 16 April 1986; & JP-A-60 241 275 (NIPPON DENKI K.K.) 30 November 1985, *

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0917206A1 (de) * 1997-11-14 1999-05-19 Eastman Kodak Company CMOS Bildaufnahmevorrichtung
US6127697A (en) * 1997-11-14 2000-10-03 Eastman Kodak Company CMOS image sensor
GB2386250A (en) * 2002-03-08 2003-09-10 Denselight Semiconductors Pte Passive photodetector
EP3619555A4 (de) * 2017-05-03 2020-12-16 Shenzhen Xpectvision Technology Co., Ltd. Verfahren zur herstellung eines strahlungsdetektors

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US5141878A (en) 1992-08-25
DE69126230T2 (de) 1997-12-11
JPH04225285A (ja) 1992-08-14
DE69126230D1 (de) 1997-07-03
EP0450827B1 (de) 1997-05-28

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